The person Cat was treating vanished below her hands, causing her to fall slightly, a hand colliding with the hard metal of the walkway.
"What the…" she muttered, but it was only a moment before she was transported as well, sent out of Engineering with a soft whizz of sound and light. She blinked as she was lifted through space, and when her eyes opened again, she was kneeling on grass. The blades tickled at her calves, irritating her skin slightly. She stood quickly, looking around for her patient, only to find them standing a few feet away, looking far more alive than they had a moment ago. "…hell," Cat finally finished her sentence.
A horse whinnied in response. Cat glowered at it, and strode off towards the house she could see in the middle distance.
Kirk approached the house suspiciously, Spock and the others trailing slightly behind him. A number of the members of the Bridge had their tricorders out, scanning everything and anything, but Kirk simply walked. Sometimes it was better to look first, science later.
"Come up here! Come on now," A cheerful voice called from inside the house, an elderly woman bustling out of the building. Kirk glanced across at Spock, waiting for some kind of explanation as the woman continued: "I have a pitcher of lemonade and some sugar cookies."
"We have transported 100 kilometres, Captain," Spock said lowly, watching the woman bustle back into the house. "I do believe we are now inside the array."
"Who the hell is she?" Kirk asked, nodding his head towards the retreating figure. Unfortunately, the nod of a head is a very vague gesture, and Cat had chosen that moment to pick her way through the bushes to the side of the house and head towards the bridge crew.
"That would be Vice-Admiral Catriona Pike. I was under the impression that you had met," Spock said, with never ending calm and a misinterpretation of Kirk's words which caused a sigh of despair to escape from Kirk.
"You know damn well I did not mean her," Kirk used his hand to gesture this time, before faltering and adding: "Wait, Vice-Admiral? You sure?"
"There is no indication of stable matter, which suggests that this is some kind of holographic projection," offered Spock. "The woman included. And as for Vice-Admiral Pike - I am certain."
Kirk watched as Cat picked her way over to the group, inspecting the house, the ground, the group of people in front of her. She did not speak as she drew closer to the group, but when the holographic woman emerged, speaking once more in a southern drawl and clucking around them like a mother hen, Cat stopped in her tracks and rolled her eyes.
Kirk swallowed his smirk and stepped towards the holographic woman, as she once more offered them a drink.
"No, thank you," he said, dipping his head in a slightly diplomatic manner. "My name is James Tiberius Kirk of the United Federation of Planets, and of the Starship Enterprise." The woman turned as he spoke, flapping a hand at him.
"Now, just make yourselves right at home. The neighbours should be here any minute," she fussed, talking half over Kirk. She beamed, then waved happily towards the figures that chattered happily through the gates. "Why, here they are."
The group turned, watching for a face they might recognise, but it was filled with archetypal country figures, all wearing clothes cherry picked from last 20th century fashions. It was a strange hologram to have picked, a strangely familiar and yet unfamiliar location - the right world, the right species, but archaic. It was jarring - they had travelled so far, and yet this was unmistakably Earth, just not their Earth.
"Excuse me," Cat said, striding up the wooden steps towards the woman. "Might I ask where we are? And why we're here?" The woman simply smiled at her, making some offhand comment about not meaning to put anyone out. Cat scoffed as she turned away, grumbling lowly to herself. Kirk glanced at her, before the neighbours overwhelmed him. One of the women in the group was very welcoming, smiling warmly at him.
"We're real glad you dropped by," she purred, glancing Kirk up and down. It was only polite to smile back at her.
"Kirk, she's a hologram," Cat said snarkily, pushing past Kirk and heading towards the barn she could see just a few metres away, a handful more of the crew emerging from behind it. "Even you must draw a line somewhere. I'm going to see if I can find anything vaguely resembling a holographic generator, come with?"
She didn't want for an answer as strode away, leaving Kirk with a decision: run after her or let her stride away on her own.
"You do know I am the Captain, not you?" He said, catching her up in only a few swift strides. Cat glanced at her, the grin she clearly held back obvious in the slight twitch of her lip.
"My apologies, your grand Captain-ship," Cat teased, curtsying low to the ground. She flicked the tricorder in her hand open, and glanced around, before meeting Kirk's gaze and apologising. "I get quite one-track-minded when I feel like there is something to be done, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you were being undermined, or anything."
Kirk copied her action, flicking out his own tricorder and lifting it to scan the surrounding area. It beeped and whizzed lightly, but didn't reveal anything useful - at least, not yet.
"I didn't want you pulling rank on me," Kirk said, glancing at her to watch her reaction closely as he added: "Vice-Admiral Pike."
Cat laughed freely, lowering her tricorder as she turned to him.
"You did your homework!" She beamed. Kirk smiled back, but then paused, and asked:
"Why did you remove it from your record? I only know because, well, Spock."
Cat caught her lip with her teeth, tugging on it slightly and then releasing it, huffing out a small weighted breath.
"Well," she began. "People tend to get a bit weird when they know quite how high ranking you are, if you're actually applying to serve under them. I didn't want you to read my application, see 'vice-admiral' and wonder what was wrong with me that I was applying to be a doctor on your ship."
Kirk leant against the barn, looking at her curiously. For the first time since he'd met her, she seemed to shift slightly under his gaze, tinkering needlessly with her tricorder. The artificial sun caught her hair, turning streaks of brown to golden in the afternoon light. It hadn't been disturbed once since they'd been flung through space, still in that same plaited bun.
"Why did you apply?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest. "I mean, as a vice-admiral, you must have had control of a station or a fleet or something? Why would you want to serve on some random starship under the grouchiest CMO known to man?"
Cat smiled a little at that last comment, and let her hands drop to her sides. She shrugged lightly, shaking her head very faintly.
"We can trace our family all the way back to some 17th Century pirates, did you know that?" She spoke softly, eyes dropping to the ground for a moment before she took a deep breath and looked back up at Kirk. "I joined Starfleet because I wanted to explore - we've had generations of nosey fuckers in my family, and I am no different. I became a doctor because I wanted to know I was actively helping at least one person whilst fulfilling my need to stick my nose in everywhere - and then I was assigned to the hospital at Starfleet Headquarters. Then, they promoted me to Vice-Admiral when Uncle Chris died, and I got command of a fleet of medical ships. Which I controlled from California." She sighed, throwing her hands in the air slightly. "I wanted adventure and I got a desk job. I want my adventure."
Kirk grinned at her.
"Well, with this lot, you'll definitely get adventures," he said lightly. His eyes slid over to something behind Cat's back, the smile fading slightly as he looked away from her. She frowned then turned to look around as well.
"Oh, great," she muttered. "Shall I leave you two?" She smirked at Kirk as the flirting woman from earlier sauntered over and grasped on to Kirk's arm, tugging him away and complaining about the smelly old barn.
"You know," Kirk said, leaning away from the overly-friendly hologram. "I've only heard people claim a barn is this dull when they hide something very interesting inside it."
Cat tilted her head to the left, and took a small step towards the barn doors.
"How bizarre," she smiled. "I've had the exact same experience." And with that she flung open the barn doors and strode inside, pushing the hologram away as she did so.
Kirk wasn't quite sure what happened next. The old woman from the house had definitely reappeared, said something in a very sassy tone, to which Cat had replied with: "Yeah, well-" before she was cut off by a beam of light.
The next thing he knew, he was strapped to a medical bed, a very large needle headed directly towards his chest, his crew mates around him all strapped down similarly. Most of them seemed to be unconscious, utterly oblivious of the tubes sticking out of them, yet somewhere, not too distantly, Kirk heard someone scream.
Then, darkness.
He awoke on the Bridge, head aching, but otherwise fine. He was back in the exact place he'd been beamed from - half way back to his chair, Spock next to him. Except, no. Spock was no longer on the Bridge. Kirk scanned the room, checking he wasn't still lain on the ground somewhere, the effects of whatever had knocked them out still in his system. There were no signs of his feet poking out from behind any equipment, so Kirk dismissed it as Spock having woken earlier and headed to a different part of the ship, starting on repairs.
"Computer, what is the current star-date?" Kirk asked, making his way back into his chair, and feeling his gut clench at the sight of the damage that remained on the Bridge. The computer gave him the answer, and he frowned. "We were over there nearly three days?" He asked, directing the question to no one in particular. Sulu glanced over his shoulder at the Captain.
"It would appear so," he said. "Though the ship appears to have just been left - it was just us that got tampered with, there's no extra damage."
"Well, I guess that's a minor bright side," Kirk offered. Whatever he was about to say next was cut off by a voice emitting through the ship's speakers.
"Sick-Bay to Bridge." Unusually, it was not Bones' voice that carried through the air, but Cat's.
"Go ahead."
"Is McCoy with you and the ship just not picking him up for some reason?" She asked. Kirk frowned, glancing around the room even though he knew the answer. Perhaps Spock's absence was not as innocent as he thought.
"No. No, he's not here," Kirk paused. "Computer, how many crew members are unaccounted for?'
"Two. Commander Spock and Dr McCoy are not on board the Enterprise," the robotic female voice answered.
"Right, well," Cat said, startling Kirk. He'd forgotten she was still linked by comms to the Bridge. "Can we go get him? I like that stroppy bastard."
Kirk lifted an eyebrow, and shrugged slightly. He scratched his head, silent for a moment, then:
"Sulu, with me. We're going back to the array -we'll break into teams, search the whole array and get Spock and Bones back. Uhura, let Security know that I'll need six men to beam down with us," Kirk ordered, getting up from his chair. "Tell them bring compression phaser rifles, and meet us in transporter room two." He paused for a moment, then added: "While we're gone, find out as much as you can about that array. If it brought us here, it can damn well send us back."
Cat was waiting for Kirk in transporter room two, having already commandeered a rifle off of one of the security guards. It was slung across her shoulder, the strap clear against the bright blue of her dress.
"Oh, no," Kirk said, catching sight of the woman leaning casually against the wall. "You are not coming with us."
Cat smirked at him, and crossed her arms.
"You ought to bring a medical professional with you - what if they're hooked up to an array of machines? Are you just going to rip the tubes out of McCoy and let him bleed to death before you can even beam him to Sick-Bay?" She challenged. "Or perhaps you think you know enough about emergency treatment that you'll be okay?"
Kirk held her gaze, not rising to the challenge. He simply shook his head at her, and repeated his earlier statement.
"No. You are staying on this ship and treating everyone who was injured before we got beamed across to that array," Kirk ordered. Cat grinned at him, and pushed herself off the wall, her slightly heeled boots sounding satisfyingly authoritative on the metal floor.
"Weirdly, the being that lives on that array healed them for me, so I'm free to come with you," she beamed, stopping right in front of Kirk, arms still folded across her chest. She barely drew level with Kirk's chin, even in heels, but that didn't detract from the defiance of her posture. Somehow, it seemed to add to it. She grinned wider. "And, in any case, Jimmy, I outrank you. I do what I want."
"Don't call me Jimmy." The words came out of Kirk's mouth before he realised who he was talking to, the regret plastering itself across his face as soon as he realised. He crossed his own arms back at Cat, their forearms nearly touching. "If you insist on being part of my crew, you follow my orders and stop trying to undermine me."
Cat tilted her head to the side and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as though she were considering the proposal. She let her eyes drift out of focus, then snap back on to Kirk's face.
"No, I don't think I will. Come along, Jimmy, let's go fetch our dear CMO before he gets ripped to tiny little pieces," she chirped, before striding on to the transporter pad. She lifted an eyebrow impatiently and gestured to the pad. Kirk held in the irritable grunt that wanted to burst from him, and followed her, deliberately standing as far from her as possible. Sulu followed him, standing on the small circle next to Cat, and trying to hold in his laughter. Cat glanced at him and held out her hand. "Sulu, right? I'm Cat Pike," she smiled warmly.
"I know," he said, taking her hand nonetheless. "We met after the Khan incident."
Cat faltered, her hand hovering in his for a moment as she thought back.
Kirk rolled his eyes and gave the command for them to be beamed across to the array.
As the lights faded from around the away teams, Cat's eyes lit up. She turned back to Sulu and grinned.
"You're Ben's husband!" She said triumphantly. Sulu grinned at her and nodded.
"Would you two focus, please?" Kirk said, only slightly stroppily. Cat smothered her laugh, adjusting the strap on her shoulder to distract herself.
"Aw, Jimmy, are you jealous that I'm making friends?" She teased. Kirk rubbed his forehead with his ring finger, pressing his thumb into his temple.
"No, Pike, I am annoyed that you are making small talk instead of focusing on trying to find my First Officer and my CMO," he snapped. He turned to the security officers, and gestured a split between them. "You four, go with Sulu towards the barn. You two with me and Dr Pike."
Cat grinned and leant towards Sulu before he could start to head towards the barn.
"He's grumpy," she teased, just loud enough for Kirk to hear her. Then, she darted towards him, and folded her hands neatly behind her back. "Where to, Captain?"
They explored the whole of the array, meeting back up in front of the house. None of them had detected any sign of human life, although Cat had squealed with delight when she'd picked up some data on her tricorder. Kirk had wheeled around, almost letting himself be excited, when he found her kneeling on the ground petting a dog enthusiastically.
"Leave the holographic dog alone," he'd said irritably. "Didn't you just make fun of me for smiling at a holographic woman?"
"I did, because it was ridiculous, wasn't it?" Cat said in a baby voice, fluffing the beagle's fur up enthusiastically, sending its tail wagging rapidly. She grinned at the dog, kissing the top of its head loudly. "But you're not a hologram, are you? Are you? No, you're not. You're the best doggie in the universe, aren't you, Porthos? Oh, I love you so much!"
She had refused to let go of the dog, carrying it around the array like it was a small child, cooing intermittently. It took ten minutes for Kirk to get her to explain that the dog was in fact Admiral Archer's dog, who Scotty had used as a guinea pig for his prototype transwarp transporter, but that sent her into another round of baby talk to the dog.
"Hey, Kirk," she cut over his discussion with Sulu about what they should do next. Kirk turned around, caught sight of her making the dog's paw wave, and nearly turned around again, but she jerked her head towards the old man who still sat on the porch, playing the banjo. "Why don't we just ask this guy?" She didn't wait for an answer before striding over to him, a broad smile on her face.
"Oh, no," the old man groaned before Cat could open her mouth to speak. "Not you lot again. You don't have what I need."
Cat beamed.
"Hello! We'll go if you give us back our friends," she said joyfully, although her free hand did find its way to the rifle slung over her shoulder. "Because frankly, I don't know what you need and I really don't care - I just want my crew mates back, and to be sent back home."
"Well, now, aren't you contentious for a minor bipedal species?" The old man said, mockingly. Cat merely smirked at him.
"This minor bipedal species doesn't appreciate being abducted," Kirk said from behind her.
"It was necessary!" Snapped the old man. "Your people aren't here - you didn't have what I need, but they might."
Cat lifted an eyebrow and then handed the dog off to a security officer who looked at her reproachfully.
"I am your Senior Officer, take the fucking dog," she thrust the dog into the security officer's chest, then wheeled back to look at the old man. "Tell me where the hell you put my CMO, or I will find him anyway, and be a lot less understanding about 'what you need'."
"Look," Kirk said, sitting down on the bench next to the old man, trying a slightly more diplomatic approach. "These people are members of my crew. They are entrusted to my safety and I just want them back. I don't know if you understand this, but they are my friends - and I will look after them."
The old man looked up at Kirk, surprise and protest in his eyes.
"Oh, no. I do understand," he said, lifting a hand in defence. "But I have no choice. There just is not enough time left. I must honour a debt that can never be repaid, but my search has not been going well."
"Tell us what you're looking for. Maybe we can help?" Kirk offered. Cat stepped slightly further away, rolling her eyes slightly as the old man began to laugh. The scathing dismissal was enough for her, and she cut over his snarky comments about having scoured the galaxy with far superior methods than they could ever comprehend.
"You have taken me 70,000 lightyears from my home. I don't get to go back unless you send me back," she snapped, arms folded. "Captain Kirk is being very kind in offering you help, but I don't give a shit. Tell me where McCoy and Spock are, and then send us back home."
"Don't you understand?" The old man leant away from Kirk, gesturing irritably. "Sending you back is terribly complicated and I don't have time. Not enough time!" He flung his hand in the air, and suddenly they were being transported back to the Enterprise.
"Well," Cat said, taking the dog back into her arms. "At least he let us keep Porthos."